


Pokémon: Buried & Cracks Ch. 1

by Charly_Carmen



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26689789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charly_Carmen/pseuds/Charly_Carmen
Summary: A natural psychic, "Lia" struggles to find motivation to do anything more than exist and eat. Hearing about Ghosts harassing the citizens of her homesuburb, something compels her to take an opportunity presented to her to acquire her first Poké Ball.
Kudos: 1





	Pokémon: Buried & Cracks Ch. 1

“Lia, you need to keep practicing or you won’t stay good at it.”

She wants to heave a sigh, but takes a deep breath instead. She doesn’t want to so much as look… but she also doesn’t exactly need to. She can ‘feel’ it well enough.

“Lia, you’re just bending and fixing a spoon. You’ve done it a thousand times.”

And maybe that’s part of why she doesn’t want to. And maybe another part is because everyone thinks she’s weird or scary for being so good at it. But of course she can’t say that anymore than she can heave a sigh.

She reaches out, feeling the steel with her mind; its strengths and weaknesses. The inconsistencies inevitable in its craftsmanship.

She bends it less than an inch.

She unties her instructor’s shoes instead.

“Oh come on, I know you can do more than that.”

Of course she can. She also did. But of course the instructor wasn’t paying attention. She bends it back the other way, farther this time. And also reties her instructor's shoe laces. Backwards.

“Lia. Being difficult isn’t going to fix anything. Now correct the spoon.”

She bends the steel back into place with a pace she knows the instructor will find agonizing, but won’t say anything about. Once done, before the instructor can speak, she gets up from her chair, flops onto her bed, and reaches out for the loose fabrics there, cocooning herself in them. She then finds the plastic of the switch near the door and moves it down in its socket without bending it. It’s not like the room is black now, though. Those awful “blinds” her parents bought are a horrid shade of white that does nothing to block out the sun, and the hideous sun-lamp on her desk is on for the plant she never asked for there.

This is one of the few ways she can get the instructor to hesitate.

“What’s wrong, Lia? Not feeling well?”

She doesn’t respond. Everyone comes to their own conclusions anyway.

“Alright. I’ll leave you to it, then. If you need anything, just speak up.”

Blessedly, the instructor turns off the lamp before gently shutting the door.

Her stomach throbs with how badly she wishes the instructor’s statement were true.

******

“Did you hear?” A muffled whisper, two adults trying to talk subtly, quietly around children, “Another disappearance off Whittaker.”

Maybe it would work, if she were actually on her phone. It would also work better if she couldn’t just listen in on their minds.

“I’ve been hearing things about some Ghost-Pokémon being about recently. Do you think they could be to blame?”

“It’s possible. But that’s just even more reason for us to make sure these kids are here -and training. Keep them distracted and safe.”

She frowns, furrowing her brow. There’s a twinge telling her that there’s more to this. Whether that’s her gut or her powers, she’s not sure, but she’s learned to listen to both. It takes her a bit, but she’s able to recall how to access The Database. She can use her mind to bend steel, but she can’t help but struggle with phones.

******

Yet more fiddling required; she sets the phone down as she sits to eat. She notes that the seat to her right is empty as-ever. Today the short straw seems to go to Tiff. Tiff also seems to get the short straw of being around her the most, even more than any of the adults. Then again, she’s also the only one who calls her “Tiff.” Or “her. “

She pokes at her dinner- her stomach is still all mangled from earlier. She’s not sure if it feels better or worse, but as much as she’d normally want to devour the garlic bread -and be expected to “politely” pace herself- she just stares at it now.

“Lia, are you still not feeling well?”

She looks over at the instructor, but does not put down her fork.

“Well, eat what you can, and get back to bed. If you aren’t feeling well, forcing yourself to eat or be around food won’t do.”

She takes a long, slow breath before carefully moving some of the meat sauce onto the garlic bread. She can feel Tiff looking at her, but doesn’t look back. She doesn’t feel back, either. Tiff forgave her, but only on the conditions that she not prod again without asking, and that she’d keep using the name she stumbled across.

******

}Gengar, the Shadow Pokémon. It apparently wishes for a traveling companion. Since it was once human itself, it tries to create one by taking the lives of other humans.{

She blinks and holds her phone at arm’s length. She hadn’t wanted it to list off the information aloud. She pokes at the volume again and it lists that it’s supposed to be on “Silent.” She stares at it in wide-eyed bewilderment.

Tiff, who had followed her from the table, plucks it from her hands, attempting to help her play it off, “Where did you wind up this time? Goodness, girl, let me see.” Tiff slides over a few things, holding it for both of them to see what’s being done. Settings, audio, there’s… more than one volume setting and none of them mean anything to her. Tiff mutes a couple, pulls back up The Database, and opens a new tab to cover up what she’d been looking at. “There, back at the Homepage.” Tiff attempts to stock off with an air of annoyance. It probably works on the one adult nearby.

Herself, she embarrassedly buries her face in her phone and slinks off to her room.

******

She’s checked on early, being “ill.” The hall lights are turned off early for her, too. She drifts her phone over to herself, and wakes it up.

She always forgets how B R I G H T the screen is when it first turns back on. She also always forgets how long it takes. She’s sure she drifted off for a bit. She pokes her phone back from sleep, makes a mental note to thank Tiff for turning on “night-mode,” and then stares at the screen so long it falls asleep again. She pokes it back awake, swallows, and reads the messages Tiff had sent her, just minutes ago.

>Hey, sorry bout bfore  
>Didn’t want todd to get nosy :P

It’s okay. I thought I had the volume off.<  
Thanks for fixing that.<  
And thanks again for turning on the night-mode.<

>Sure thing! :P  
>But uh  
>What wer u looking that up 4

She goes to swallow again, but it catches in her throat, sending her into a coughing fit. At least anyone hearing it would just assume she’d caught something.

>Did u hear bout the ghost mons too

It takes her another long moment before she can muster a response. Her throat tingles, sending her into another, smaller coughing fit.

Yes<

>Im kinda scared

We have security, and they’re specifically prepared to watch for and fend off Ghosts and Psychics.<  
You’ll be fine.<

>And u

It’s my parents’ place. All I need right now is some water and quiet.<

The phone does that thing where it shows the other person start and stop typing a few times. She starts getting antsy, wondering what Tiff might ask next, but when at last a message does come through, it feels even more concerning than any of the questions she’d started to imagine.

>Ok  
>Goodnight

Goodnight.<

She rolls over, and floats the phone back to her desk.

******

“A… day trip?” Jake looks skeptical.

The rest of the group looks around at each other. It doesn’t take a psychic to tell that everyone has heard about the rumors of Ghosts.

“W-wh-Well,” Stammers the head, “It… ah, itjustseems like it’s been awhile since we all left the house! I know that this is being treated as a boarding school of sorts, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be days of fun! Besides, it’s just to the local mall.”

She pretends to be enthralled by her phone. She continues to wonder what her parents were thinking making this person the head of staff. But it’s their money, not hers. It is, however, her (and everyone else here’s) education. On bending spoons.

“And do what?” Jake puts his fists on his hips, “There’s five of us, and three don’t even get an allowance!”

‘Yes, Jake, I know exactly who you’re glaring jealously at as if it were my fault your parents don’t trust you.’

...she would like to say, but pokes at her phone instead.

“Well!” The head claps hands together excitedly, “You’ll be being chaperoned, so talk with your adult! We’ll be buying you snacks and meals, and maybe we can even take notes on things that catch your eye! Birthdays are coming up, after all!”

‘The next birthday is in five months.’

...is something she definitely should keep to herself.

******

Of course her chaperone is her personal instructor. Probably the only one comfortable with the idea of spending the better part of a day with her. Also probably the only one who is taking this as an opportunity to get more lessons in.

“Lia. Lia! Where did you get off to!”

‘I have a phone, and you know how to text.’

...is going to be kept to herself.

Slipping off, she makes her way to the mall’s PokéMart. She peruses the shelves, but can’t seem to find what she’s looking for. At last she manages to work up the courage to take a look behind the counter and: Sure enough, all Poké Balls are back there. Of course.

She bites her lip, lets it go, bites it again. She tries to pretend that she’s looking something up on her phone, like she needs to remember what she needs to buy but that just makes it WORSE because it’s actually just one item and super simple-

“Can I help you?”

She jumps. She’d gotten so absorbed in her own head that she hadn’t noticed the young clerk who she SWEARS wasn’t the one on-duty a moment ago squat down in front of her. And she’s not much of one for fashion herself but DANG is he pretty, “Er, uh.” Oh gosh someone's just talking casually what do- NO NO BAD DO NOT TEAR UP THERE IS NO REASON TO TEAR UP, “Y-yes.”

He smiles at her. Or maybe past her? Whichever the case, it does abate her tension a bit, “What can I help you with?”

“I-” She fumbles a moment, swapping her phone for her -ugh- coin purse, “I would like to buy a Poké Ball.” She manages to force out.

He stands up, “Just one?”

She nods, still not making eye contact, “Just- just to have.”

She can feel that he’s hiding a bit of judgement, but who wouldn’t: A ten-year-old, sheepish and alone, looking to buy a Poké Ball, and seeming almost guilty about it.

She follows him to the counter, then starts when she sees what’s handed to her: A bright, nearly all-white Poké Ball, with just a red line around the middle, “Um-” she looks up, then down at her coin purse to start counting, but stops. She has no idea which ball this is.

“It’s a Premier Ball. About as effective as your average Poké Ball, just with a different design. We got a bunch for a promotion a while back, and STILL have some left over. Take it, on the house.”

She stares wide-eyed at the ball for a moment, before putting her coin purse back, and gently picking up the ‘Premier’ Ball. She looks up towards him and murmurs “Th-thank you.” Before shuffling back out of the store-

-and remembering she’s in the mall.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fake region set in the Pokéverse, inspired by my experiences with the cartridge games. Many of the characters are inspired by my own frustrations with the trainer classes in the cartridge games. "Lia" is a Psychic/Seer (though her Pokémon will be following a different theme), while the man who assists her in the shop is a Beauty. "Tiff" and "Jake" are both Channelers/Mediums.


End file.
